DREDGING

For your safety and the safety of others, please adhere to the following guidelines at all times during the dredging project:

1. KEEP A SAFE DISTANCE: Maintain a safe distance from dredging equipment and associated vessels. Be aware of posted signage indicating restricted zones.
2. FOLLOW MARKED CHANNELS: Stay within designated channels and avoid venturing into areas marked for dredging operations. These channels are specifically designated for safe passage.
3. LISTEN TO MARINE BAND RADIO: Monitor VHF Channel 16 for updates and instructions from LA Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol regarding dredging operations, navigational changes, or any emergencies.
4. REDUCED SPEEDS: Operate your vessel at a reduced speed in the vicinity of dredging activities. Slow speeds minimize wake and enhance safety for both boaters and workers.
5. COOPERATE WITH CREW INSTRUCTIONS: If directed by dredging crew or marina personnel, please follow their instructions promptly and respectfully.
6. DAYTIME NAVIGATION PREFERRED: If possible, plan your boating activities during daylight hours. This enhances visibility for all boaters and ensures safer navigation.

Dredging is the routine removal of accumulated underwater sediment from channel beds to maintain the appropriate depths of navigation channels, harbors, marinas, boat launches and port facilities. It’s usually conducted by heavy machinery that scoops sediment from an area onto a barge, which transports the sediment elsewhere.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) dredges the Marina del Rey entrance channel as part of its maintenance dredging program, which is conducted regularly for navigation purposes. The Marina needs to be dredged due to a severe build-up of sediment in the entrance channel. The sediment build-up has reduced navigation for boaters and poses a safety risk for first responders in the area, including the U.S. Coast Guard, Los Angeles County Lifeguard Baywatch and the Marina del Rey Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol. While maintenance dredging typically does not include any expansion of the previously dredged area, additional work will be done to remove shoaling around the north jetty.

About 400,000 to 500,000 cubic yards of sediment will be dredged from the harbor entrance. Once removed, the dredged sand will be transported by a scow—a large flat-bottomed vessel—and dropped through an opening at the bottom of the vessel into water about 15 to 30 feet deep nearshore Dockweiler State Beach. The sand deposits will be made twice a day and take about a half hour to complete and are expected to provide renourishment for the beach. 

Dredging at Marina del Rey is expected to begin on January 1, 2024 and should be complete by May 2024.  

The dredging project will be a 24/7 operation. The Department of Beaches and Harbors will work with the dredging contractor to mitigate noise. It is not anticipated that the dredging will take place close enough to residences such that it would result in nighttime noise disturbance.

Upon completion of the project, it is anticipated that the depth of the harbor entrance will be 20 feet Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW), or a depth of 20 feet during low tide. 

Nearly $7.2 million in Federal funds has been appropriated for the project.  

Contact USACE Public Affairs Specialist Dena O’Dell at (213) 452-3925 or Dena.M.O’Dell@usace.army.mil or gregory.a.fuderer@usace.army.mil.

All dredging is monitored to assure that there is minimal impact to the foraging and nesting periods of the California Least Tern, as well as all other sensitive or endangered species. 

Sand placement activities will not occur at times or close to where grunions are spawning.